Guidelines for the New Program/Major Or Minor/ Concentration Proposal Form

Guidelines for the New Program/Major or Minor/Concentration Proposal Form

GUIDELINES FOR THE NEW PROGRAM/MAJOR OR MINOR/ CONCENTRATION PROPOSAL FORM

These guidelines are intended to accompany the McGillUniversity

New Program/Major or Minor/ Concentration Proposal Form

that is available on the Web at

Updated November 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.Contacts3-4

1. The Pathway for Approval4

1. Length of Time for Approval5

1. Important Deadlines5

1. How to find the program proposal form5-6

1. How to fill out the New Program/Major or Minor/6-10

Concentration Proposal Form

1. Appendix 1 - Departmental consultation report form11

1. Appendix 2 - Academic Management Office approval guidelines12

1. Appendix 3 - Sample program proposal – see separate file

Acronyms:

APCAcademic Policy Committee of Senate [formerly APPC]

CGPSCouncil of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

ESEnrolment Services

GPSGraduate and Postdoctoral Studies

GRADGraduate

MESRSTMinistère de l'Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche, de la Science et de la Technologie

MSEMcGillSchool of Environment

SCTPAPC Subcommittee on Courses and Teaching Programs

UGUndergraduate

1. Contacts/Communications

These people can be contacted for specifics related to meeting dates, faculty-specific and other issues.

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Guidelines for the New Program/Major or Minor/Concentration Proposal Form

APC Secretary

Julie Degans, Academic Planning Officer

Tel: 398-2985

Fax: 398-3219

James Administration Building

Office of the Associate Provost (Policies, Procedures & Equity)

SCTP Secretary

Cindy Smith, Course and Program Administrator

Tel:398-2624

Fax:398-4355

Room 750, 688 Sherbrooke St. W.

Registration, Programs, and Government Reporting,ES

Director – Academic Management Office

Réal Del Degan

Tel: 398-2988

Fax: 398-2300

Room 621, James Admin. Building

CGPS Secretary

Mona Sharafi-Razvand, Administrative Coordinator

Tel: 398-3324

Fax: 398-3296

Room 325, James Admin. Building

Office of the Dean, GPS

Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Joanne Ten Eyck

Tel:398-8677

Fax:398-7766

Dean’s Office, Macdonald-StewartBuilding

Macdonald Campus

Faculty of Arts

Susan Sharpe

Tel:398-4400 ext. 094859

Fax:398-8102

Course and Program Officer

Dawson Hall

School of Continuing Studies

Diana Iasenza

Tel: 398-6155

Fax: 398-2832

Dean’s Office

Faculty of Dentistry

Emil Briones – Undergraduate proposals

Tel:398-7203 ext. 09308

Fax:398-8900

2001 McGill College, Suite 500

Maria Palumbo – Graduate proposals

Tel:398-6699

Fax:398-8900

2001 McGill College, Suite 545

Faculty of Education

Associate Dean Elizabeth Wood

Tel:398-8154

Fax:398-1527

Dean’s Office, Room 230, 3700 McTavish Street

Faculty of Engineering

Amber Saunders

Tel:398-7261

Fax:398-5681

McGill Engineering Student Centre

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office

Maggie Do Couto

Tel:398-3050

Fax:398-3296

GPSO, 3rd Floor, James Admin. Building

Faculty of Law

Nancy Czemmel

Tel:398-6608ext. 00882

Fax:398-4659

Student Affairs Officer, Chancellor Day Hall

Desautels Faculty of Management

Marina Poulios –Undergraduate proposals

Tel:398-4067

Fax:398-3402

B.Com Program, BronfmanBuilding

Tina Gjertsen – Graduate proposals

Tel: 398-4042

Fax: 398-2499

MBA Program, Bronfman Building

Faculty of Medicine

Leah Giannakis

Tel:398-2849

Fax:398-8807

McIntyre Medical Sciences Bldg., Room 637

Schulich School of Music

Diana (Dino) Dutz

Tel: 398-6337

Fax: 398-1540

Associate Deans Office, Strathcona Music Building

Faculty of Religious Studies

Francesca Maniaci

Tel: 398-5693

Fax:398-6665

William & HenryBirksBuilding

Faculty of Science

Josie D'Amico

Tel:398-4215

Fax:398-8102

Assistant to the Dean, Dawson Hall

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Guidelines for the New Program/Major or Minor/Concentration Proposal Form

Communications regarding course and program decisions are sent via the above faculty contact people. Course and program approvals appear in reports and minutes posted on the Web (see Section 5).

2.The Pathway for Approval

2.1New degree programs (these are degrees that have never existed before at the University)

DepartmentFaculty  CGPS (if GRAD) SCTPAPCSenate CREPUQ MESRST

2.2 New Option of Existing Program/Major or Minor/Concentration or Major Revision (to

existing University degree programs or options)

Department Faculty CGPS (if GRAD) SCTPAPC



ESCalendar



Degree Evaluation staff

Information on the streamlining of approval pathways [as approved by APC January 17, 2013] may be found at:

entitled “Approval Paths”.

2.3Faculty Deadlines

Please consult your faculty contact person for internal faculty deadlines and timeline information.

2.4Meetings

SCTP meets on alternate Thursdays from APC, September through May. The meeting dates for APC and SCTP may be found on their individual Web sites.

3. Length of time for approval for a new program/major or minor/concentration

3.1Completely new programs require government approval, which takes between 2 and 5 years.

(An exception: completely new privately-funded programs do not require government approval.) Before new degree programs begin the approval process, it is imperative that the Chair of SCTP or the Secretary to APC or to SCTP be contacted for consultation.

3.2It takes 3 to 4 months on average for a new program/major or minor/concentration to be approved. However, it can take from 6 to 9 months (or even longer) from the departmental level, if substantial changes are requested by the Faculty, CGPS (if GRAD), SCTP or APC (see 3.3 below).

3.3The following are some of the most common reasons why proposals are returned (unapproved) to departments:

3.3.1The department did not provide a side-by-side comparison of the existing program with the proposed new concentration (option) proposal.

3.3.2The department submitted only one proposal form when two separate proposals were required (e.g., one for a thesis program, one for a non-thesis program).

3.3.3The department did not consult with other departments about possible overlap with other programs, or neglected to submit a consultation form (Appendix 1) when listing another unit’s courses in a program.

3.3.4The department did not receive approval from the Director – Academic Management Office when financial implications are concerned (Appendix 2).

1. Important Deadlines

4.1October 15

The ESdeadline for entries in the UG Calendar is January [at the latest; earlier if possible]. If the program is to be listed in the next year’s Calendar, it should arrive at SCTP by October 15 of the previous year.

4.2 February 1

If you wish to be able to offer a new program/major or minor/concentration or wish major revisions to a program/major or minor/concentration to come into effect the following September, the proposal should arrive at SCTP no later than February 1, as it may require Senate approval before the end of the academic year.

4.3 Late Spring

It is suggested that departments begin working on program proposals in late spring and summer so that the rest of the approval process may begin in early fall. It is recommended to submit draft proposals toJulie Degans–Secretary to APC or Cindy Smith - Secretary to SCTP for editorial comments/review before submission for approval at the departmental level.

5. How to find the New Program/Major or Minor/Concentration Proposal Form

5.1The web site is located at .

5.2Following the listing of the guidelines and the new course proposal and course revision forms you will find the program forms under “TEACHING PROGRAMS”; there is a link to Microsoft Word and PDF versions of the latest New Program/Major or Minor/Concentration form. Click on this link and save the blank form on your computer system for further use.

NOTE: Handwritten proposals will not be considered.

5.3Attach any additional information required by the form (e.g., letters of consultation from other departments or financial write-off).

5.4After the proposal has received departmental approval it should be forwarded to the faculty, which will review it and report it to CGPS (if GRAD) or SCTP following approval at the faculty level. The SCTP Faculty Contact person is responsible for submissions to CGPS or SCTP.

5.5The status of a program proposal may be checked by searching the minutes on the Web sites for SCTP, APC, CGPS, Senate or a large number of faculty Curriculum/Academic Committee. The SCTP Faculty Contact for your Faculty will know the status, as SCTP, CGPS, APC, and Senate [by the APC Secretary] reports back to faculty contacts.

6.How to fill out the New Program/Major or Minor/Concentration Proposal Form

Please note that in order to name a program after a donor, there are certain criteria and procedures that need to be followed. Please refer to the Naming Policy for University Assetsreviewed by Senate

Terminology used on the forms is Banner specific.

6.1.0Degree Title

Enter the proposed full title for the degree only as it will appear in the Calendar, e.g. Bachelor of Arts or B.A., B.Ed. or Bachelor of Education, Master of Engineering or M.Eng. etc. A list of all degrees granted by the University may be found at:

In the case of concurrent programs, both degrees should be indicated (e.g., B.Sc./B.Ed).

6.1.1Major (Legacy = Subject) (30-character maximum)

The subject of the degree is the topic that the program (degree) covers (e.g., Biology). It is not

indicated as a “Major in Biology”, but this does refer to simply “Biology” as the subject, and “Major”

would be checked in Category (box 5.2).

6.1.2Concentration (Legacy = Concentration/Option)

The option is a sub-topic within the subject of the degree, e.g. Major Concentration in English;

Literature = the Concentration is “Literature”.

In the final program title, semicolons should be used to separate the degree title, major/minor, and concentration. An example of a correctly formed composite degree title is B.A.; Major Concentration in English; Literature.

6.1.3Minor (with Concentration)

This applies to minor concentrations with an option – the option would be indicated here.

6.2.0Administering Faculty/Unit

Enter the name of the faculty/unit that administers the program. Note that there are cases when the faculty administering the program is not the same as the faculty offering the program. Graduate and Postdoctoral Studiesis the Unit that administers all graduate programs – with the exception of graduate certificates and graduate diplomas offered by the School of Continuing Studiesonly.

Offering Faculty/Department

Enter the name of the facultyanddepartment that offers the program.

6.3.0Effective Term of Implementation

The term and year that the program will REALISTICALLY come into effect, e.g. 200709 or Fall 2007, allowing sufficient time for the proposal to go through the approval process.

6.4.0Rationale and Admission Requirements for New Proposal (approximately 150 words)

Discuss and justify:

• the academic significance of the program;
• the clientele of the program;
• possible overlap with program(s) in other units; and
• briefly indicate the admission requirements for this new program, and provide a rationale if they differ from current admission standards for existing programs within the department.

Also, the APC believes the University already has a large number of programs (more than 4,000). Every new program [undergraduate and graduate: new degree, option/concentration, faculty program, honours, joint honours/major, major(concentration), minor(concentration), certificate, and diploma] can be expensive to run, both in terms of resources and focus.Are any programs in your unit affected by low enrolment? If so, please explain why the program(s) is(are) being offered. Have you examined whether any program(s) in your unit could be retired or revised? Please explain in the new program proposal’s rationale.”

6.5.0Program Information

6.5.1Program Type - Check the typethat applies; usually only one type, with the exception of a

Distance Education Master’s.

Some program type definitions:

Bachelor's = 90-120 credits

Master’s = normally 45 credits

M.Sc.(Applied) = normally a professional degree

Dual Degree/Concurrent Program

Certificate = 30-credit first cycle program, governed by the teaching faculty

Diploma = 30-credit second cycle program that has, as a prerequisite for admission, an undergraduate degree or its equivalent, in any discipline, and for which faculty approval is by the teaching faculty

Graduate Certificate = second-cycle program of fewer than 30 but no less than 15 credits, which has as a prerequisite an undergraduate degree and it must be approved by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Graduate Diploma = 30-credit second cycle program which has as a prerequisite for admission an undergraduate degree or graduate degree, or its equivalent, in the same or a related discipline, and it must be approved by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Professional Development Certificate = a non-credit transcript micro-program of not more than 45 CEUs but no less than 12 CEUs [contact the Course and Program Administrator for additional information]

Ph.D. = 0-counting credits at McGillUniversity [this means all Ph.D. programs are worth 0 credits]

Doctorate (other than Ph.D.)

Private = self-funded program; all private program proposals must be reviewed by the Director – Academic Management Office. Academic and financial guidelines for private programs are available at or from Mr. Réal Del Degan (). See Appendix 2 for guidelines on the information required for financial approval

Off-Campus = refers to a McGill program given at a location other than either of McGill’s two campuses

Distance Education = Web based or by correspondence; this term refers to any non

face-to-face teaching activity;a policy is currently being developed by the Office of the Provost

Stream = A specified list of complementary courses that provides students with a suggested set of courses inan area of specialization within a program. The stream title does not appear on transcripts ordiplomas. Since such a specified list of courses does not affect degree requirements, it may beadded by units as comments to the Calendar; a stream does not require formal approval.

Other (Please specify)

6.5.2Category – Check which category applies; only one category.

Faculty Program = an approved coherent selection of courses giving students a useful concentration in a recognized area, e.g., Industrial Relations or McGill School of Environment Concentration

Major = more specialized than faculty programs, usually centred in a specific discipline or department; normally 54 credits; certain majors can be taken concurrently, e.g., B.Ed, B.Sc.

Joint Major

Major Concentration = Faculties of Arts, Law, or Science, 36 credits, usually centred in a specific discipline or academic unit

Minor = a coherent sequence of courses in a given discipline or interdisciplinary area that may be taken in addition to the courses required for the degree program; normally 24 credits with up to 6 credits overlap within the degree program; Note: the Faculty of Science also offers minors that consist of 18 to 27 credits

Minor Concentration = Faculty of Arts, 18 credits of a coherent sequence of courses; can usually be expanded to major concentrations by taking 18 additional credits

Honours = demand a high degree of specialization and require students to satisfy departmental Honours requirements while maintaining high academic standing, e.g. CGPA minimum of 3.0

Joint Honours Component = two kinds of Joint Honours programs available:

fully-integrated programs such as Economics and Finance, or a combination of two joint honours components [requires departmental approval]

Internship/Co-op

Thesis = minimum 24 credits of thesis courses

Non-Thesis = maximum 18 credits of project courses

Other (please specify)

6.5.3Level – Check which level that applies; only one level.

6.5.4FQRSC (Research) Indicator (for GPS)

Indicate Yes or No if the graduate program is a research program.

FQRSC definition = Masters programs with thesis and Masters programs non-thesis that have 15 credits between project, methodology (statistics) and seminar on current literature.

In order to meet the FQRSC criteria to be eligible for Master's Scholarship Funding, a minimum of one third of the Master’s program credits must derive from research and/or research training (research component may include methodology + seminar on current literature + project).

If Yes:Please list within the rationale box the course(s) that have a research component [include the course number, title, and credit weight of each course].

[Contact GPS for additional information.]

6.6.0Total Credits

Please indicate the total number of credits required for this program (as distinct from the number of credits for the entire degree) unless your department does not use the credit system. If this number differs significantly from the norm for a degree of this type, please explain why. This will save time, as University committees may need the information in order to make a decision. All Ph.D. programs are indicated as “0 credits” on proposal forms.

NORMS:

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Guidelines for the New Program/Major or Minor/Concentration Proposal Form

Ph.D. 0 (non-credit counting)

Master’s 45-60

Honours 60

Joint Honours 72

Minor (Concentration) 24 (18)

Major (Concentration) 54 (36)

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Guidelines for the New Program/Major or Minor/Concentration Proposal Form

The Faculty of Arts Multi-Track Program

To recognize the diversity of student backgrounds and interests and the multiple routes to understanding provided by a modern university, the Faculty of Arts offers a 90-credit multi-track program that includes a major concentration complemented by at least a minor concentration and distribution component which may be completed in one of the following ways:

Option AMajor concentration (36 credits) + minor concentration (18 credits) + 36 credits of electives.

Option BMajor concentration (36) + major concentration (36) + 18 credits of electives.

Option CMajor concentration (36) + minor concentration (18) + minor concentration (18) + 18 credits of electives

Within Options A and B, all concentrations must be in different academic units. Within Option C,

one of the minor concentrations may be in the same unit as the major concentration. Students who

pursue a same-unit minor concentration will substitute additional complementary (non-required)

courses, to a total of 18 credits.

6.7.0Consultation with Related Units

Related Units = academic units; evidence of consultation with other units should be appended

when the proposed program affects other units (i.e., when the program requires students to take

courses given by other units). The evidence could take the form of a summary of pertinent

comments received from other units with the names and titles (e.g., Chair, Director of GPSO

etc.) or electronic copies of consultation reports. A rationale must be supplied when a

consultation does not result in routine consent but rather contains reservations or outright

rejections. Please see Appendix 1.

Financial Consult = Consultation with the Director – Academic Management Office is required

when there are financial implications to a new program/major or minor/concentration (i.e.,

additional University resources are required, there are additional fees for materials, or it is a private

[self-funded] program). See Appendix 2 for further information. [Financial consults may be